Auto drivers accuse AAP government of betraying them

A group of auto-rickshaw drivers under the banner of Nyayabhoomi on Thursday said they would not support the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Nyayabhoomi secretary Rakesh Agarwal said they would also file petitions in court against the AAP government’s decision to not give an opportunity to existing auto-rickshaw drivers to apply for permits in the NCR area.

Accusing AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of betraying auto-rickshaw drivers, Agarwal alleged that he (Kejriwal) had not even spend 49 minutes during his 49-day tenure to look into the issues of auto-rickshaw drivers.

“Kejriwal had promised that he will solve the problems of auto-rickshaw drivers. But he did nothing,” Agarwal claimed. He asked auto-rickshaw drivers to call small meetings at stands at railways stations and bus terminals and pass the word on how the Kejriwal government had betrayed them.

A large number of auto-rickshaw drivers had come out in support of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during the Assembly elections. “Kejriwal had won the elections because of the support of the auto drivers. But he never acknowledged that,” Agarwal said.

Agarwal said the AAP government had promised to help auto rickshaw drivers get rid of the finance-mafia, to ensure an income of at least `25,000 per month to every auto driver, improve the fare-structure, take action against seizure of vehicles by police and issue 5,500 new permits for the Delhi-NCR region. But none of the promises transformed into reality.